This year's IIHF World Junior Championship tournament has been a much rougher affair than in years past, with several 2+10 minute boarding penalties already having been assessed, and a pair of violent head hits now being investigated with supplementary discipline likely in both cases.
Canada's Braden Schneider and Austria's Philipp Wimmer may each find themselves in some hot water with the IIHF disciplinary committee following hits in which the head was the principle point of contact on Saturday.
Schneider's hit on Jan-Luca Schumacher in Canada's 16-2 victory was both avoidable and unnecessary. Schneider is much larger than Schumacher initiated the contact with the German forward while he was in a vulnerable position. The hearing for Schneider is currently underway and we can expect a decision shortly.
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The hit by Wimmer on American forward Patrick Moynihan was a much more predatory hit, and will likely earn a more stiff punishment. Wimmer not only approached Moynihan from the blindside with speed, but he also left his feet, absolutely flattening Moynihan, who, thankfully, ended up making it to the bench under his own strength.
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We should know in short order what the disciplinary committee has in store for both the Canadian and the Austrian.
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